City of Pensacola continues it's melt down

http://advancepensacola.com/community-redevelopment-agency-held-hostage-for-months/

Community Redevelopment Agency Held Hostage for Months
By Councilman Bare
12
JUL
On December 10, 2012, I made the only motion I have regretted since taking office. In the Community Redevelopment Agency meeting, I mad a motion that allowed our Chairman, Brian Spencer to set the dates and times of our meetings at his discretion.

The Community Redevelopment Agency, for those who don’t know, is supposed to guide downtown redevelopment activity. According to the city’s web site, the CRA is made up of the City Council members and a citizenry determined to revitalize the historic waterfront and inner city neighborhoods. Originally created in 1980, the CRA funds public infrastructure to foster private investment in new development and renovation through the reinvestment of taxes generated within the district. Nearly all the current funding brought in is allocated to the maritime park project debt service and operations.

The CRA is staffed by the city. This arrangement is governed by an interlocal agreement. Unfortunately, our interlocal agreement expired at the end of January 2013. CRA Chairman Spencer did not call a meeting in January, so we were unable to discuss the interlocal agreement before it expired. Chairman Spencer did not call a meeting until February 11, 2013 (nearly 2 weeks after the expiration of the interlocal agreement. During this meeting, I made a motion to postpone the item for discussion until our March meeting. This motion passed. I also made a motion that the CRA meet a minimum of monthly. This also passed.

In March 2013, Chairman Spencer did not call a regular meeting, despite the fact that we had passed a motion that the organization needed to meet monthly and was to consider the interlocal agreement in March. He did instead call a special meeting to allow Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee Chairman Brian Hooper to make a presentation on his committee’s findings, which highlighted the need for a new YMCA.

On April 4, 2013, Chairman Spencer held another meeting with only one item on the agenda. On April 2nd, our agreement with Hixardt Technologies had expired and we discussed only that topic. Chairman Spencer did not call meetings in May or June. Now in July, we are having a meeting and the expired interlocal agreement is still not on the agenda. Chairman Spencer has consistently ignored the motions made by members of the CRA including mine that instructed him to meet a minimum of monthly.

It seems to me that Spencer needs to get the boot, at a *minimum* from his position as the CRA Chairman. He very clearly is neglecting his duties to the city and only sees his way clear to address -- and spend taxpayer dollars on -- his pet projects in his spare time.